well, American companies pretty much didn’t make any subcompacts for the domestic market from the 80s through the aughts due to a combination of higher margins on trucks and SUVs, higher fuel subsidies making petrol costs less relevant, and American roads not really needing the combination of small size + powerful acceleration that European roads do. the smallest Ford you could buy in America for like thirty years was the focus, and if you’re not going any smaller than small sedans (even hatchbacks disappeared for a long time), Japanese cars are cheaper, more reliable, and more efficient.
I strongly suspect that most Americans are completely unaware that cars like the fiesta were still produced and still pretty good for much of that time
I kinda feel like being in the position to even worry about getting something like a Prius is also one of those dividers.
Anyway, today I replaced the battery in my 2013 Cruze that I’ve had for a year or so, and the date on the battery was 2006. Used cars have some stories, man. Also now I’m up to $800 in car costs for the past two months. I hate cars.
Got a couple friends looking to replace their second car after it got totalled on a quiet intersection (literally a minute walk from the restaurant the rest of us were at). They haven’t been able to replace it yet with something used for various reasons, some sensible others not so much. They kinda need it since both are working full time jobs now, and not in the same area nor in the same city they live in.
I’m still on a 2003 (!) Corolla. Maybe it’s time to consider an upgrade for myself…
well, yeah, even the name “prius” is basically synonymous with “embarrassingly middle class” (even though a new C is less than $20k! which is really cheap for a hybrid!), but it still doesn’t necessarily entail “more money than sense” – my point was that the “sensible” almost-new-but-not, I-paid-less-than-ten-grand-for-this-and-I-fully-expect-it-to-last-me-fifteen-years-so-why-would-I-ever-buy-something-brand-new market (like, from the sounds of things, your cruze) isn’t there in canada, or at least western canada.
we got a gently used corolla for a decent price right here in canada for significantly less than a new one would be, because it was the most amount of money canadian banks were willing to put on the line for immigrants on temporary work visas
kind of want to get an absurdly stupid car loan immediately after we get our SINs changed just to spite them
Nissan Leaf version 2 has been announced today, and offers some nice stats for that price point. 40kwh battery, claimed range of +200 miles and it looks nice/like a normal car, which should help it when it comes to normal people™.
bigger battery and range will follow/at the end of 2018, soooo… maybe better to wait and see what that’ll offer, new car gremlins should be ironed out by then…
I’m very happy to drive my current car up until mainstream EVs are, like, below $30k and self-driving in some/most contexts is a mainstream feature, as long as this happens in the next decade
they are edging ever so close!
unfortunately, i have to admit, they even ditched the crazy Future Interieur Stuff that i absolutely adore, in the process of appealing to normal people. Why can’t they take a page out of Citroën’s book and offer at least some wakko future nerd skin for the dash…
has been designed & signed off somewhere before 2007, since it has been on sale for ten years by now, and it still feels more contemporary than offerings from 2015+.
just look at the displays in the heater knobs in the lower right corner. most people won’t even be able to see them if they’re behind the wheel, but rhose crazy frenchmen clearly went for style instead of common sense.
I cannot abide touchscreens in replacement of knobs and luckily I probably won’t have to pay real monies on a car that has them at least until cars no longer come with steering wheels
Buying a car exposes you to the absolute worst products of capitalism. It’s like a cartoon. Every part of this process is so outdated and pointless, stuffed to the gills with middlemen and hucksters.
